The Keeneland September sale ended with increases for the second year in a row in gross, average price, and median price. According to some of the auction’s participants, the Keeneland November breeding stock sale also should turn in an upbeat performance.

One reason for the optimism is that the dispersal of the late Edward P. Evans’ well-bred Spring Hill Farm horses will continue, with Lane’s End serving as agent.

“We’re going to have a great November sale; it’s going to be really exceptional,” predicted Kerry Cauthen of Four Star Sales. “We’ve got the Breeders’ Cup (World Championships) in Louisville (beforehand) and we’ve got the Evans dispersal. You’re going to see people here who probably haven’t been to this sale in 20 years because they’ve got an opportunity to buy a product that just hasn’t been available in the marketplace.”

Because of the Evans dispersal, “you’re going to see an infusion of foreign buyers who haven’t been here before who think our price point is low (with the American dollar being weak)," Cauthen said. "They won’t be able to buy all the horses they want in the dispersal, so they’ll filter down in the market and buy what they can. They’re not going to come all this way and go home empty-handed.”

Tommy Eastham of EastWynd Sales believes weanlings will be especially popular in November.

“For the babies, I think it’s going to be strong because of the success (at the September sale) and because of the supply-and-demand factor (with supply being down),” he said. “Also, when people buy babies, they have multiple chances to resell them. They can resell them as yearlings or they can resell them as 2-year-olds. That gives pinhookers a little bit more flexibility than (they have) with yearlings.”